The association of anthropometry indices with gout in Taiwanese men

BACKGROUND: To examine the association of anthropometry indices with gout and to compare the performance of indices to predict gout in Taiwanese men. METHODS: There were 1443 male subjects aged more than 20 years who participated in the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT, 1993–1996). Anthropometric evaluation consisted of weight, height, hip and waist circumference (WC) with later body mass index (BMI), waist to height (WHtR) and waist to hip (WHR) estimations. We conducted 4 logistic models to determine the relationships between anthropometric indices and gout. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to compare the predictive performance and to identify the optimal cut-off points, sensitivity and specificity of these indices for gout in men. RESULTS: After controlling for other covariables, the adjusted odds ratios for the mid and top tertiles of WHtR were 2.55 (95% CI: 1.16, 5.59) and 3.01 (95% CI: 1.13, 7.99), respectively, but no linear association was found for BMI, WHR and WC. In ROC curve, the greatest area under curve was 0.684 for WHtR and the cut-off point of WHtR was 0.57. CONCLUSIONS: WHtR had a significant linear association with gout in Taiwanese men and was superior to BMI, WHR and WC.